The present invention relates generally to the field of energy recovery schemes and, more specifically to systems which generate electricity by burning garbage while producing saleable hydrocarbon gases.
At the present time, western countries are experiencing spiraling fuel costs at the same time that they are literally drowning in a sea of garbage. Much of the garbage generated represents a wasted energy resource which becomes abundantly clear when garbage is buried in a dump and the trapped decomposition gases, principally methane, are released and sometimes ignite in an uncontrollable fire.
A number of systems have been described which purport to solve this problem by burning combustible garbage to provide both energy and fuel but all have suffered from serious shortcomings. The principal difficulties have been in the areas of low efficiencies, excessive pollution products, and difficulty in accumulating and disposing of final ash waste products.